Author's note: Hi, a few of you have left reviews requesting that I make my chapters longer. I will try my hardest to do so, however sometimes I write chapters shorter because they are necessary in setting the scene for the following chapters. That being said, these next chapters should be longer. This chapter will feature another time jump to help move the story along. Enjoy!
A few days later
Other than being sarcastic and arrogant, Stefan had been on his best behaviour since he and Elena were back on good terms again. There had been no major fights, compulsion or feeding on people, which Elena was thankful for. Sure, they bickered a little here and there, but it always ended with him letting her win or making her laugh.
It was a scorching Wednesday afternoon, and Elena was lounging on a sunbed by the pool. They had come to an understanding that they were going to trust each other as long as they explained their plans beforehand, so when Stefan announced he was going to the hospital to stock up on blood bags, Elena promised she'd be staying home and relaxing by the pool. Even though, he'd only been gone little over an hour, Elena kind of missed him, plus she was bored. Obviously, this version of Stefan wasn't ideal, but he had passed the evil and manipulative phase, and now he just teased and tried to wind her up. Rather than being cautious and brooding, he was care free and acted less seriously due to the fact he didn't have it in him to feel guilty about what he had done. But like everything else, it came with a price, because it meant that Stefan didn't feel anything, including the need to be with Elena romantically. At least that's what Elena thought. Even when they were together, and Stefan had his humanity, there were moments where he would act immaturely and act goofy with her and they would live as if they didn't have a care in the world. However, something would always get in the way, whether it was Katherine, Damon, the originals or some ghost from his past, and then he would return to his careful and over-thinking self. That didn't matter to Elena though, she loved him, every part of him, including his imperfections. She was dragged out of her thoughts, by Stefan, who had arrived back at home.
"That's one thing I miss about Mystic Falls, how easy it is to sneak blood bags out of hospitals." Stefan mused whilst slipping into the pool and leaning on the side, so he could face her.
"Why? Did you run into trouble?" Elena asked cautiously.
"No. But I had to steal a doctor's uniform to avoid raising alarm." He replied looking up at her, Elena nodded in response. They fell into silence, before Elena struck up another conversation.
"God, it's so hot here. I swear one of these days I'm going to melt." Elena huffed and fanned herself.
"Why don't you get in the pool then?" Stefan asked as if she was dumb.
"I don't want to get my hair wet." Elena responded and made him guffaw.
"That's not a good enough reason. Get in the pool." Stefan said.
"No." She said over dramatically and shook her head at him.
In response, Stefan sighed and shook his head and then climbed out of the pool, so that he was towering over her.
"Last chance." He said, his voice dripping with mischief.
"Don't even think about it." She warned.
Stefan scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder. Elena began giggling uncontrollably as she started lightly hitting his back and begging him not to do it. However, he just ignored her protests and jumped them both into the pool. After resurfacing, Elena laughed in shock and then glared at him playfully.
"You are so going to pay for that." Elena warned him.
"Prove it." He challenged raising his eyebrows at her.
Accepting his challenge, Elena began splashing him and Stefan growled playfully whilst splashing her back. He was making his way over to her, and Elena saw this as the opportunity to jump him and dunk him under the water, so that's what she did. It backfired though, because his hands clamped around her waist and brought her down with him. When he pulled them back above the water, his hands were still firmly placed on her waist, whilst her hands grasped his biceps. Their foreheads were pressing against each other making Elena release a breath she didn't know she was holding. She watched as his eyes raked over her body, right from her feet and up to her eyes. Frozen in her place Elena didn't know what to do, her heart was practically beating out of her chest as they held each other. Maybe this was it, maybe this was when she would bring him back, she thought.
"We should go and start getting ready. I've got plans for us tonight." Stefan said pulling away from her.
"Yeah, um, okay." Elena stuttered and watched as he got out of the pool.
About an hour or so later, after getting ready and grabbing something to eat, Stefan and Elena were ready to leave. They had got into the car and started driving.
"So, what have you got planned?" Elena asked looking out of the window.
"A club." Stefan said with traces of excitement and wiggled his eyebrows. Elena giggled at his goofiness.
"In case you hadn't realised, I'm not 21." Elena said, and he just rolled his eyes.
"Hmmm, what's that thing every vampire can use that helps them persuade people and get what they want?" Stefan mocked and tapped his chin. "What's it called? Oh, yeah compulsion, Elena." He teased, and Elena swatted his arm.
They arrived at the club, and Stefan walked right to the front of the queue with Elena by his side. He approached the security guard and looked into his eyes.
"You're going to let me and my accomplice in without asking for ID. More importantly, you're going to forget that this ever happened."
"Of course, sir. Please, go in and have a good night." The security guard said dazed and confused.
Offering his arm to her, Elena took it and they made their way inside and over to the bar.
"I'll have a JD and coke and she'll have a sex on the beach cocktail, and you'll give these drinks, and the rest of the drinks I order free of charge all night." Stefan compelled the bar tender.
"A sex on the beach, really Stefan?" Elena asked him.
"What? You'll like it." He stated.
They spent the next hour at the bar chatting and drinking. Feeling a little tipsy and carefree, Elena got up and started tugging on Stefan's arm.
"Come on, let's go dance." Elena said.
"Nope."
"Pleeaassseee." Elena begged and batted her eyelashes at him.
"Nice try. But, the answer is still no." He responded making her sigh.
"Fine, I'll dance on my own." Elena said and then started walking over to the dancefloor.
She knew Stefan was watching, so she swayed her hips as she walked, trying to provoke him. When she got to the dancefloor, she didn't go far into the crowd because she wanted Stefan to be able to see her. Elena started moving her body, particularly her hips to the rhythm of the song, whilst maintaining eye contact with Stefan the whole time. He smirked at her and continued sipping on his whisky. Elena felt a light grip on her waist and turned to find some guy trying to dance with her. Not thinking rationally due to the booze, Elena began dancing with the guy thinking it was harmless and that it might make Stefan jealous enough to come dance with her. However, the guy's hands started to roam, and she was beginning to get uncomfortable.
"I don't want this. Please, get off." Elena said sternly to the guy.
"Oh, come on, we're just having fun." He said trying to grab her again.
"No." Elena replied, but he made no indication of letting go.
Luckily, Stefan realised this. He stalked over and grabbed the guy, pushing him off Elena.
"Hey, I believe the lady said no." Stefan growled at him, putting himself in front of Elena.
"Is this the jealous boyfriend? Come on sweetheart, I'm sure I could show you a better time than him." The guy said cockily.
In retaliation, Stefan grabbed the guy by his collar and dragged him right in front of his face.
"I'm going to give you three seconds to walk away." Stefan seethed, his jaw clenching and his knuckles turning white from his iron grip. For some baffling reason, the guy didn't appear to be scared of Stefan at all.
"Or what?" The guy asked.
"I'll kill you." Stefan replied throwing him to the ground and then standing over him.
Worried about what he was going to do next, Elena grabbed Stefan's arm and started pulling him back.
"Hey, Stefan. Come on. I'm okay, it's okay." Elena said calmly whilst rubbing his arm.
When he turned to face her, he wasn't impressed or happy, but he still followed her lead. She walked him back over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. Internally, she cursed herself for starting to dance with that guy, because this would have been avoided if she hadn't done it. It wasn't just Stefan's anger that she was upset about, it was also the way the guy made her feel, she felt cheap and slutty. She wrapped herself up in her own arms as if to protect herself and it didn't go unnoticed by Stefan.
"Are you okay?" Stefan asked calmly.
"Yeah." She replied looking everywhere but him.
"You're lying. Come on, I'll take you outside for some air." He said and offered his hand.
Elena took it gladly and let him lead her through the back of the club to the alleyway.
"If you want, I'll kill him." Stefan said half playful half serious making Elena laugh breathlessly.
"No. I don't want you to kill him." Elena assured him. "But, I do want to go home."
"Okay." Stefan said grabbing her hand again to lead her out of the alleyway.
Stopping in his tracks half way through the alleyway, Stefan turned around after hearing a noise come from where they had just been standing.
"Stefan, what are you…" Elena tried to say but was cut off by Stefan shushing her.
In the blink of an eye, Stefan had been thrown against the wall by the guy who had forced himself on Elena, meanwhile she had fell to the ground from the impact of the push.
"Bet you're wondering why I wasn't scared of you in the club, huh? I'll give you hint, it's because I know exactly what you are and I'm one too." The guy, who was also a vampire, hissed in Stefan's face. "I want your girl and I always get what I want."
Stefan snapped and threw the guy off of him, so that he smashed into the opposite wall of the alleyway.
"Elena, go to the car!" Stefan shouted at her, but Elena remained frozen sat on the floor.
The guy launched at Stefan punching him in the face. They both were trading blow for blow. But then, Stefan capitalized and hit the guy so hard he fell to the floor, he then proceeded to pin the guy to the floor and repeatedly punch him in the face. Suddenly, Stefan groaned in pain and Elena watched as the guy had stabbed Stefan through the stomach with a stake. The attacker rolled Stefan off of him, so that he hovered above him and was in control. Stefan watched with wide eyes as the guy pulled out another stake and aimed it at his heart.
"Any last words before I kill you and then take your girl?" The attacker asked in a menacing tone.
Closing his eyes, Stefan prepared himself for death. However, he was alerted when he heard the male scream in pain, he opened his eyes to find the guy's skin turning grey and his body becoming lifeless. The guy fell off of him, dead. That's when Stefan saw Elena standing over him breathing heavily, she must have been the one to stake him. He tried to get up but groaned again when he realised the stake that was still impaled in his stomach.
"Just stay still, okay?" Elena said as she kneeled beside him.
She wrapped her hands around the stake and it moved slightly causing him to yelp in pain.
"Elena, please just pull it out fast." He said through gritted teeth.
Wincing, Elena ripped the stake out making Stefan exhale in agony. Fortunately, his wound healed quicker than they ever used to, and Elena felt torn due to the fact she knew it was down to the amount of blood he had been drinking, it made him stronger.
"Let's get out of here." He said, and they made their way down the alleyway and to the car.
The whole ride home they sat in silence, neither one of the knowing what to say. Arriving at the house and shutting the engine off, Stefan didn't make a move to leave the car and neither did Elena, instead they just sat there.
"You saved my life tonight. Thank you." Stefan said turning to look her in the eye.
"I'll always save you, Stefan." Elena breathed out. "You saved mine too, so thank you."
In respond, Stefan smiled lightly and nodded his head.
"Are you alright? You don't have any cuts or bruises, do you?" Stefan asked concerned.
"I'm a little shaken up, but I'll be okay. Come on, let's go inside." Elena said.
They walked inside, and Elena tried her best to hide her limp. She must have twisted her ankle when she fell but didn't feel it before because of the adrenaline rush. Stefan obviously noticed it, because he scooped her up and carried her bridal style then placed her in a dining room chair.
"You were limping. What part of your leg hurts?" Stefan asked.
"I think I twisted my ankle when I fell." She admitted quietly
Stefan nodded and bit his wrist.
"Here, drink up." He said, putting his wrist up to her mouth.
Elena grabbed on his wrist and sucked lightly, all the while watching his face. She noticed that when she sucked, his stern facial expression faltered slightly, and he cleared his throat.
"Thank you." She said and then wiped her lips. "I'm gonna go to bed now, so goodnight."
"Goodnight, Elena." He replied.
Unable to help himself, he watched her climb the stairs, partly to check if she had stopped limping and partly because he couldn't tear his gaze away from her.
His humanity was showing, and he knew it.
